I shall be most happy to relinquish any and all duties and resposibilities essential to the running of the Bistro to CC, Fee and Topaz........
I will be most happy to fill in here and there on a volunteer basis as always....I feel Topaz would be a better choice....

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What is this I hear? There will be no relinquishment of duties here. Both you and Topaz are appreciated by both Fee and myself (sorry for speaking for you Fee) as well as the patrons. You bring humour, charm, class and manners into this Bistro. Seriously, what would we do without you flopping into chairs, sighing heavily (much to Dedan's delight) and sharing your moments of the day with us? It is unfortunate that Topaz passed on the offer but I'm glad she is taking on the decorating - that will be a big task. We need you to help us here and Fee and myself are too busy to keep an eye on this place all the time. I feel both you and Topaz are great and you are needed. Please?

I shall be most happy to relinquish any and all duties and resposibilities essential to the running of the Bistro to CC, Fee and Topaz........
I will be most happy to fill in here and there on a volunteer basis as always....I feel Topaz would be a better choice....

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Glad to see you have restocked the Stolichnaya. A glass of Stolichnaya, a bowl of the ILC lentil soup, and one of CC's egg salad sandwiches, please.

Incidentally, the conflict of interest regarding Dedans on the fan, plus ILC's valued place with many customers as a friendly partner in crime, means she should remain a helpful patron, in my opinion. She helps keep us in line, but if she told all, everyone would be banned from the Bistro.

Happy Birthday Topaz!
CC...there is a nice cake from the local bakery in the back with candles....ready to go....also a pot of semi-alcoholic hot cocoa on simmer....marshmallows by the cash register.....will try to stop in later....

Pussy Galore sings Édith Piaf songs on the karaoke machine as I enter the Bistro. Topaz, CC, Fee, ILC, Sup and many others pull hairs from the birthday cake, then Topaz blows out the candles. I send a bottle of the Bistro's finest Champagne to their table.

After pouring a glass of Stolichnaya, I join the Bistro cats in a game of poker. Two hours later, my wallet is empty, but "Lil Piratey Varmint" lends me cab fair for my trip home. Cheers to Topaz and everyone else.

Runs like the wind into the Bistro...hopes that the little black cloud that keeps following me loses track of me...looks around...no black cloud?.....good...phew...that was a close one....takes a seat at the bar....mmmmmm...no one seems to be around, yet the door was unlocked.....that's a bit odd....CC?......echo echo echo.....Fee?....echo echo echo.....Lil Piratey Varm?.....echo echo echo.....Kitty Assassin?.....echo echo echo.....Dedans?...... echo echo echo....Mike? echo echo echo......mmmmm....
Goes behind the bar and gets a nice bottle of brandy....poor thing...it's seen very little use...blows dust off the bottle and pours a double....gabs a bottle of water and sits down....takes out checkbook and sighs......
Earlier today I was ready to head out to run some errands...got into the car, turned the key and....cough...cough...nothing...tried again....nuthin'.....
Well, it is a little chilly today and I still have the original battery in my car......goes in to the house and brings out my little battery jumper thingy....pops hood and scratches head...ok...so where is the friggin battery? Mmmmm...I know where everything else is....but I don't see a battery....ok....that must be it...in the corner, with a black leather cover over it....mmmmm...this looks like a job for AAA. I've been paying them for years, might as well use their services....within the hour the guy shows up, pulls the spurious things off the leather cover and voila....exposes a battery!!! checks the juice and announces that it's waaaaaay low....2 options...a jump (I'm pretty sure that means it'll be dead again tomorrow) or a new battery. I opt for the new battery which he has in the truck....within 15 minutes I'm good to go...the hard part is the guy putting the little covers back on everything....now I know the car will start tomorrow....right?...right? Takes a big sip of brandy....ooooooh...it burns so good.....
Hope someone comes in soon to keep me company.....

Stumbles blindly into Bistro and calls out to Bette, to Topaz, to Fee. I need help getting my jacket off guys...I think it's actually frozen to my body. *knocks icicles off nose* Sorry to hear about the car. I am almost out of Diet Coke but there is no way I'm venturing out in the cold to get some. I wonder if any of my neighbors have an extra bottle? *ponders dilemma*

"The sun brought a little warmth to Winnipeg, making it feel like –40 C with the wind chill by mid-afternoon, an improvement on the –50 C the wind chill made it feel like when residents woke up. Regina warmed only a few degrees above the –45 C it felt like with the wind chill at the start of the day."

Skin froze today in under five minutes of exposure and the radio announced we were the coldest area (Manitoba / Saskatchewan) of the world for a few hours this morning. It is supposed to be even colder tomorrow with the wind chill hitting -52 degrees. Needless to say, I took the morning off tomorrow and will be heading to my warm bed soon with a cup of hot chocolate. I am soooo thrilled that my landlords replaced the windows this year as they promised (not) to eliminate the gale force draft I have coming through. Hmm....do I smell biscuits?

Deadans? ... who dat?(stealthfully approaches from rear, gently cups hands over eyes and playfully coos: "guess who?" ...... lowers hands..........softly repeats the same question...")
--------------------Deadans eh?.....never heard of him...
It was so cold today, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

Deadans? ... who dat?(stealthfully approaches from rear, gently cups hands over eyes and playfully coos: "guess who?" ...... lowers hands..........softly repeats the same question...")
--------------------Deadans eh?.....never heard of him...
It was so cold today, I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets.

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Oooops....a Freudian slip perhaps my Beloved??? It's been soooo long since we've done a turn on the ceiling fan I've forgotten how to spell the name of my dearest one...a thousand and one apologies....does Kumquat have your forgiveness?.......bats eyelashes

Phone rings in the Bistro......ILC is calling from her double parked car outside.....she needs volunteers to come out and bring dishes and large pots in to the Bistro....been cooking all day....have made the Bistro fav's...Irish mac & cheese....lentil soup.....beef stew......chicken soup...turkey tettrazinni.......blueberry muffins......half of that goes in the freezer.....
ILC won't be doing much except sitting on her sweet little butt for the next few weeks....we have an inaugural to enjoy AND the OZ Open!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Does it get any better???????

Just got back from hitting in the freezing cold (ok, I am a sissy, it was probably around 50) and could do with a nice cup of hot chocolate (With Godiva Chocolate Liqueur and Green Creme de Menthe topped with a generous helping of whipped cream) to go along with my blueberry muffin.

Just got back from hitting in the freezing cold (ok, I am a sissy, it was probably around 50) and could do with a nice cup of hot chocolate (With Godiva Chocolate Liqueur and Green Creme de Menthe topped with a generous helping of whipped cream) to go along with my blueberry muffin.

J

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not to worry...ILC always has Godiva Liqueur around...I actually prefer the white...it mixes better...and the creme de menthe...but of course......pinkies up.....!

A glass of Stolichnaya and an ILC blueberry muffin, please. I send a beer to Leelord and a drink of choice to Sentinel, as they enjoy the amazing satellite photos. Hey CC, the Stolichnaya is not chilled; can you hold the glass in your frozen Canadian hands for 20 seconds? Thanks, my glass is very cold now.

"Lil Piratey Varmint" asks if I have the cab fare loan from my last visit, including the 10% interest, compounded hourly. After paying Mr. Varmint, he buys a rum and milk and asks me to join him at the cat poker table. Before long, I have lost all my money.

I wish I spoke cat as they talked throughout the game. They promise me that they only talked about licking themselves and naps, and never discussed the cards. I take them for their word. "Lil Piratey Varmint" lends me money for the cab fare home again.